SpaceEngine contains many, many catalog objects, and only a tiny number of them have descriptions in the database files (these descriptions are what show up in the Info section of the 'Wiki' window in SE). Writing descriptions for objects is a very time-consuming task, so it's hard for SpaceEngineer and the few people who help him to find the time to do it.

This is a great way for the SE community to help improve the program! You can write object descriptions to be used in SpaceEngine. And if your contributions get added to the program, you will of course get your name added to the SE credits

But you can't write just anything and have it be added. There are some rules that you must follow:

Descriptions must be entirely written by you. You cannot copy a description, in whole or in part, from somewhere else (e.g. Wikipedia).

Description information should be as accurate and up-to-date as possible. This may require checking multiple sources of information to verify that the information you collect is correct and scientifically accepted.

Descriptions should be well-written. Please do not write a description for a language that you are not very proficient in.

Descriptions should be well-formatted if they contain a large amount of information (if there is only enough information to write a few sentences, don't worry about it). See example below:

Ceres is the Solar system's smallest dwarf planet and the largest object in the main asteroid belt. It was also the first object in the asteroid belt to be discovered, and was initially categorized as a planet until the discovery of many other similar objects led to their re-categorization as asteroids. Ceres is slightly less than 1,000 km in diameter and is composed of rock and ice. It comprises one-third of the mass of the asteroid belt. It may also have a tenuous atmosphere. No natural satellites have been discovered around Ceres.

[big]Surface Environment[/big]

Ceres has a surface composition largely similar to carbonaceous (C-type) asteroids, with some notable differences. The characteristic most dissimilar from C-type asteroid composition is the existence of hydrated materials. The surface may also contain carbonates and iron-rich clays, materials that are also uncommon on C-type asteroids. Temperatures on the surface can reach 235 K (-38 [deg]C), relatively warm for a body so distant from the sun, thanks to Ceres' low albedo.

Very few features have been identified on the surface of Ceres. Even the most powerful near-Earth telescopes can not resolve details much smaller than 30 km across. Several bright and dark features have been mapped, though nothing is known about any of them. Ceres also does not appear to be geologically active, and its surface is likely altered only by impact events.

[big]Internal Structure[/big]

Due to its large size, oblate spheroidal shape, and some observed surface characteristics, many astronomers suspect that Ceres has a differentiated interior with a rocky core and a mantle composed largely of water ice. If true, this would make Ceres the largest surviving protoplanet in the inner Solar system. However, this has yet to be confirmed by close observation, and alternative possible explanations for its shape and surface characteristics do exist. If a water ice mantle does exist, then it is possible that a liquid ocean layer exists or did exist as well.

[big]Atmosphere[/big]

There are indications that Ceres may have a thin atmosphere, and possibly exposed water ice or frost on its surface. Any such ice would sublimate if directly exposed to sunlight, escaping away into space. Hydroxide ions detected near the north pole of Ceres may be caused by this process."}

This is how it looks in SE:

As you can see, there are a number of descriptions in SE right now that don't meet this standard, and should be updated

The database file you must edit can be found in the /data/locale folder, and will end in -db.cfg (so eng-db.cfg for English). You can find the full list of codes you can use in your scripts here.

The hardest amount of info is for asteroids. Most information that I drag up on some of these asteroids only are like one or two sentences like "It exists" and that is all. For example, asteroid 334 Chicago literally only has one sentence about it on Wikipedia and everything else that I find on it is more about the guy that discovered it than the actual rock itself.

I don't know if it's done yet in languages other than mine, but I think it could make sense from an amateur astronomer point of view to cover all objects which are directly visible with small instruments first, most famous Messier objects, for example.And of course all main planets and moons of the solar system, which are been studied somehow with a probe. This because they are those with the most available sources.

One-liners should be the last, if covered at all. Then again, for many asteroids there many papers publicly available mentioning some of their characteristics, that are "hardcore" science and difficult to synthesize in a wiki page.

One-liners should be the last, if covered at all. Then again, for many asteroids there many papers publicly available mentioning some of their characteristics, that are "hardcore" science and difficult to synthesize in a wiki page.

The part about there being hardcore evidence for them is not so much the issue (because most of the hardcore info about a nebula or an asteroid for example is already in the game files on the left side of the screen when you click on a known object) but so much so in the actual information such as an object's full description like a planet such as our own or a more famous asteroid such as Hale-Bopp. The nebulas, asteroids, star clusters, etc that we know of in real life that are just slapped on with a random number and letter pattern (i.e. asteroid 1999 US3) doesn't have a long and lengthy description like other objects (again such as Hale-Bopp) that have been observed more frequently and most of the time, you can't get info on who found it, the story of how it was found, etc. So that is what I was just mentioning in reference too was just how some of them are going to not have as much information as other well known objects in the sky. Not saying there isn't any info, but just a whole lot less.

They will be saved in the 'config' folder in the 'user-eng-db.cfg' file, or if you click 'Real object', saved in the 'data\locale' folder in the 'eng-db.cfg' file.Respectively in the appropriate files of your language.

Well, yeah, I have locale\eng-db.cfg in my addon's folder with an entry for one of the planets, but it doesn't show up in the program.Or it should only appear if it will be in data\locale\eng-db.cfg of the main root?

A few years ago, I made a thread similar to this on the old forum. Unfortunately, nothing much came of it, but I'm glad to see a similar project get started up. Anyways, here's my own cfg file I've done during the old project(which can still be downloaded on the thread). It contains entries for the Moon, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and a few minor asteroids and comets. If there's any problem with the file(since it was made several versions ago), let me know.

DeathStar,if someone would use your file, he would overwrite the original file. This can not be the purpose.It would be better, you save your extensions as 'user-eng-db.cfg', in the folder 'config'.

Well, I thought that there will be some sort of compilation of all the submitted cfg files in the OP itself(or that the submitted files are collected, vetted and then added to the next version) rather than having to be manually downloaded individually by a user reading the thread, so I don't really think it's a major problem. But I'll keep your advice in mind in the future.

Source of the post if someone would use your file, he would overwrite the original file. This can not be the purpose.

The wiki has an option "import" to merge db files. However, I didn't tested it during a long time, so it may be broken.Edit: yes it doesn't work.Edit2: bug fixed.Edit3: updated eng-db.cfg is added to OP. Some typos are fixed. Please use a text editor with spell-checking!

So, I haven't been active for a rather long time on these forums. I've both had a lot of IRL stuff to deal with in the last several months, and I've only recently ordered a new GPU, which should arrive on the 31st (I was unable to start SE with my current, rather outdated one). Hence, I haven't been able to do any localization work whatsoever, but Marko S. has taken that into his own hands until I'm able to translate again, so major props to him for that .

Anyways, I've cobbled together a wiki entry for the Milky Way. In truth, I wrote it months ago, but never got around to posting it here. Here it is:

RObject{LocName "Milky Way"Name "Milky Way"Descr "The Milky Way is the barred spiral galaxy in which the Solar System resides.

[big]Astronomical history[/big]

Since the dawn of time, mankind has held in awe the majestic appearance of our home galaxy arching across the night sky. This great fixture of the celestial sphere came to be known as a variety of things among the many cultures of the world, but the Greek interpretation, that of spilt milk, would give it the name it currently bears - the Milky Way. Despite it's existence being well-known since time immemorial, only relatively recently did humanity begin to understand it's true nature. Up until the 17th century, it was unknown for certain what the great band of light even consisted of. Only in 1610, with the advent of the first telescopes, did Galileo Galilei definitively reveal that it is composed of vast numbers of faint stars. For the next three hundred years, the Milky Way would be thought to encompass the entire Universe.

In the early 20th century, however, controversy arose in the astronomical community as Heber Curtis proposed his 'island universe' hypothesis, which claimed that the Milky Way was but one of countless galaxies scattered throughout an almost unfathomably expansive cosmos. Though the idea quickly gained traction, it wouldn't become accepted as fact within the scientific community until the 1920s, when Edwin Hubble proved it's validity by resolving parts of other spiral galaxies as consisting of stars and by using Cepheid variables to gauge their approximate distances, showing them to be much too far away to be considered a part of the Milky Way. Though we now know that the Milky Way is just one of countless galaxies, it still holds an obvious importance in astronomy, as almost all deep sky objects close enough to be studied in detail are contained within it.

[big]Environment and satellites[/big]

The Milky Way belongs to the Local Group, a collection of galaxies which also includes M31(Andromeda), M33(Triangulum) and various other minor ones. Among the rest, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are perhaps the most notable as they are the largest and most conspicuous satellites of the Milky Way, being prominently visible from the southern hemisphere of Earth. However, recent speed measurements indicate that they may not actually be gravitationally bound to our galaxy and are merely passing by in a close encounter. If that is the case, the actual largest satellite is the nearby Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy, which is currently in the process of being consumed by our galaxy.

[big]Structure[/big]

Consisting of several loose arms and a central bar structure, the Milky Way is a rather typical barred spiral galaxy(Sbc in the Hubble classification system). It's core is located some 25,000 light-years from the Solar system and is mainly composed of densely-packed ancient stars surrounding the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*. Further outwards, the vast mass of gas, dust and stars that makes up the galaxy is separated into four major spiral arms. Frequent branching, merging and other irregularities means that there are several lesser arms also scattered throughout the Milky Way. One such spur, the Orion Arm, is home to the Solar system. Above and below the disk extends a spheroidal halo of globular clusters and isolated, old stars."}